Colorist Inspiration – UK Music Video Awards 2020

Looking Back At The Best Music Video Grades Of 2019/2020

Due to the crazy pandemic postponing and changing the world, I forgot to do my usual inspiration round-up of the best music video grades as chosen by the UK Music Video Awards.

Entries for the 2021 show open up in June, if you have a grade you are proud of you should enter here!

In my opinion music videos are a huge source of inspiration as they have the greatest freedom for a colorist to go wild.

Respecting the photography is always our primary goal but the creative briefs on a music video tend to have more out there references as artists strive to differentiate themselves.

For example, the music video below I graded this year. The grade was pretty damn bonkers and inspired by Kodak Aerochrome film stock

It was a great opportunity to go a bit crazy. Only in music video land could I break the memory color rule and make the grass pink, the highlights green, and the shadows blue.

Be your own judge

One of my favorite things was trying to pick the winner before the winner is officially announced. Due to this being a bit later than normal you could cheat and check out the actual winner before watching them all but I beg you to watch them all blindly.

I’ll post the winner in the comments so you can enjoy the Insight spoiler-free until the end.

There are no hard rules for what makes a “best grade” as color is such a personal choice, but I have some suggestions to think about while picking your favorite:

• Is it amazing grading or amazing cinematography?
• How much has the grade elevated the project?
• Does the grade fit the genre?
• How much work has gone into the grade?
• Does the grade harmonize well with the project or does it feel forced?